Each
year as July approaches, the quiet city of Parintins in Amazonas, Brazil, comes
alive as thousands of visitors from around the world arrive to celebrate
Festival Folclórico de Parentins (Parintins Folklore Festival).

For
three days in late June, the population of Parintins grows from 80 thousand
inhabitants to 180,000 with the arrival of 100,000 revelers from around the
globe ready to participate in the legendary festivities and witness the
spectacular pageantry.

Often
called Festival do Boi-Bumbá, Bumba Meu Boi, or simply Festival, the event
celebrates a local legend about a resurrected ox. The celebrations center
around two teams -- Garantido and Caprichoso -- that compete in extended
retellings of the story with flamboyant dances, singing, and parade floats in
the "Bumbódromo," a round stage with an audience capacity of 35,000.
Each nightly performance is an extravaganza in itself, largely based on local
Amazonian folklore and indigenous culture, but also incorporating contemporary
Brazilian rhythms and themes.

"The
sponsorship of the Parintins Festival is one of our most important cultural
sponsorships in Brazil, which results from a close and long lasting
relationship with Amazonas and its inhabitants. Everything we do in
Amazonas is associated to sustainability -- when we create thousands of jobs that
greatly reduce the environmental pressure of man on the forest, when we support
Fundação Amazonas Sustentável, and even when we invest in one of the most
beautiful popular festivals in the world," says Marco Simões, Coca-Cola
Brasil's Communication and Sustainability vice-president.

More than just spectacular parades

Coca-Cola
Brazil has invested R$82 million in support of the Festival over the last 20
years.

During
this year’s event, which ran June 28-30, Coca-Cola Brazil sponsored bulls for
the two competing teams and hired 700 locals to construct and manage a VIP area
for guests in the Bumbódromo. The VIP box was decorated exclusively with
recycled materials produced in local carpentry shops, reinforcing Coke’s
commitment to sustainability.

In
total, more than three thousand Parintins residents were directly involved
behind-the-scenes of the 2014 Festival. One thousand locals participated
in each of the folk groups, making costumes, props and floats.

Amidst the festivities, Coca-Cola Brazil
also worked with members of local civil society, government and private
initiatives to begin discussing new solutions for the sustainable development
of the Amazon Region. “The enthusiasm and collaborative spirit we saw over just
a few days of conversation is inspiring,” says Claudia Lorenzo, Director of
Social Business at Coca-Cola Brazil. “We are beginning our first steps on an
important journey with new partners. And together, we can have tremendous
impact – much more than any one of us would have working alone.”

Coca-Cola
Coletivo

The
shared value platform Coca-ColaColetivo also played a part in events
surrounding the festivities in Parintins. The Arts Coletivo
trained five Parintins families to produce bags, domestic utensils and decorative
items using local raw materials and recyclable materials, such as soft drink
containers, to be sold during the Festival.

Coletivo
is a transformational platform to strengthen local communities and build the
business, based on a proprietary approach to community engagement, life-skills
education and access to economic opportunity. To date, Coletivo has benefited
more than 70,000 people across the country.

Coletivo includes
seven models across the system’s value chain, tackling some of society’s greatest
challenges. While each model includes distinct employment-based training, all
Coletivo programs emphasize life skills and self-confidence to equip
participants to build their own futures.Learn more.

Coca-Cola Brazil and Sustainability

Coca-Cola
Brazil is committed to sustainability and it’s visible in the way the company
and its bottlers care for people and the environment. The Coca-Cola Brazil
water use rate, for example, is one of the best in the world: 1.87 liters of
water are used for each liter of beverage produced – less than half the volume
used 14 years ago.

Since
1996, Coca-Cola Brazil’s Recycling Coletivo has helped make the country
one of the most efficient in material recycling. Today, 98% of all aluminum
cans and 56% of all PET bottles are recycled.